Winter Meetings Preview: Twins Rumor Roundup

[Tom Froemming]

Let’s take a look at who the Minnesota Twins are rumored to be interested in and what transactions have already taken place this offseason as we prepare for the MLB Winter Meetings.The MLB Winter Meetings are typically an ice breaker to the offseason, but this year’s event will be held remotely. As if the current economic situation wasn’t clouding the situation enough, it’ll be interesting to see how the event going virtual may slow things down compared to prior years.

 

Speaking of which, last year’s meetings saw some of the biggest contracts in baseball signed. Stephen Strasberg signed a record-breaking deal for a starting pitcher, seven years and $245 million, only to be bested by Gerrit Cole’s nine-year, $324 million contract the next day. Anthony Redon also inked his seven-year, $245 million deal with the Angels.

 

The Twins, however, had a quiet 2019 Winter Meetings. The Michael Pineda and Alex Avila signings were made official, but they were originally reported a week prior to the event. Let’s run through who they’ve been liked to thus far this offseason.

 

Twins Rumors

Darren Wolfson of KSTP has reported that the Twins are interested in Kiké Hernández, Joakim Soria and Corey Kluber (link to Kiké Tweet, Soria Tweet and Scoop podcast).

 

Hernández’s overall numbers don’t stand out, but he brings one particular skill that could be of great value to the Twins.

 

 

That ability to crush left-handers combined with positional flexibility — he provides depth at virtually every position in the field — means Hernández could solve a lot of the Twins’ problems all on his own.

 

Soria, a right-handed relief pitcher, has been worth 5.2 WAR the past four seasons, per FanGraphs. That ranks 11th among all relievers, two spots above Taylor Rogers. He’s entering his age-37 season, but this Twins front office has been very open to adding veteran relievers in the past.

 

Kluber was a leading Cy Young candidate as recently as 2018, but that feels like forever ago now. He’s pitched just 36 2/3 innings over the two seasons since. He’s entering his age-35 season.

 

Jayson Stark of The Athletic recently noted that every executive he’s spoke with “expects the Twins to spend money.” That leaves a lot of room for interpretation, but it’s a much more positive outlook than some other fanbases are faced with heading into the Winter Meetings.

 

Catching Up

The MLB offseason is always a bit slow to pick up steam, but this year feels especially sluggish. Just four players have signed contracts with new clubs in excess of $2 million. Here’s that list:

 

Mike Minor to the Royals for two years and $18 million.

Trevor May to the Mets for two years and $15.5 million.

Charlie Morton to Atlanta for one year, $15 million.

Drew Smyly to Atlanta for one year, $11 million.

The other significant deals all involved players returning to the teams they finished the 2020 season with. Marcus Stroman and Kevin Gausman both accepted qualifying offers and Robbie Ray got a one-year, $8 million deal to return to Toronto.

 

There have also been a couple of trades, as the Angels acquired shortstop José Iglesias for pitchers Garrett Stallings and Jean Pinto while the Reds sent Robert Stephenson and a prospect to Colorado for Jeff Hoffman and a prospect.

 

But that’s it. There are a lot of moves yet to be made, but whether or not things pick up this week is anybody’s guess.

 

What About the DH?

It’s possible the fate of the Designated Hitter in the National League is determined this week, though there’s no hard deadline on when the decision needs to be made.

 

This arguably impacts the Twins as much as any team in baseball, as Nelson Cruz waits to find out whether or not an additional 15 teams may be interested in his services. If so, the likelihood of a team meeting his desire for a two-year contract raise significantly.

 

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[TNTwinsFan]

I vote “No” to any of the above mentioned FA options. Bring Lewis up and play him at SS, 3B, and OF (CF if Buck gets injured.) Lewis could play 4-6 times per week in that kind of scenario. If he’s as mature as all reports say he is, he can handle the position variety just fine. If a very young Mauer can handle all the rigors of managing a MLB game and staff, Lewis can manage a few different positions. By all accounts he's got the chops to do so anyway. Save the money and spend it on brining in Bauer.

[Physics Guy]

Mauer had also established a much stronger track record with the bat in the minors.  That along with a somewhat lost season last year for Lewis, I'm not sure it would be wise from teh get-go to have Lewis in the majors.  Let him show something for the first half of the season.

[Otwins]

I agree with TNT.  Lewis can hit .211(Marwin) under .200 Adrianza. At least there would be the potential for him to be good. Kiki Hernandez usually hits around .230 with OBP slightly over .300. Have to think Lewis has a chance to do that.  Spend your money on pitching. Although I don't think it will be Bauer

[h2oface]

Kiki can step up in big games. He did it a bunch I LA. AND in the postseason. That's more than I can say about the current Twins. I like Enrique Hernandez.

[jud6312]

They better have interest in more than those three players.

 

Those are the kind of signings that a team standing at the doorstep of a title make. That's not what this team is. At least not yet.

[Tom Froemming]

 

They better have interest in more than those three players.

 

Those are the kind of signings that a team standing at the doorstep of a title make. That's not what this team is. At least not yet.

They most certainly do, that's just what's been reported thus far.

[4twinsJA]

Probably buying high with Kiki since coming off being part of WS win. Would consider other options, don't think Lewis is ready.

[AceWrigley]

A remote MLB Winter Meeting . . . that sounds like fun. I guess we'll have to play some remote golf then. Sure will save on the bar tab though.

[railmarshalljon]

 

I vote “No” to any of the above mentioned FA options. Bring Lewis up and play him at SS, 3B, and OF (CF if Buck gets injured.) Lewis could play 4-6 times per week in that kind of scenario. If he’s as mature as all reports say he is, he can handle the position variety just fine. If a very young Mauer can handle all the rigors of managing a MLB game and staff, Lewis can manage a few different positions. By all accounts he's got the chops to do so anyway. Save the money and spend it on brining in Bauer.

 

Lewis had an OPS of .661 in A+ and AA during the 2019 season. I'm all for being aggressive with prospects but if he can't handle the pitching in the minors what benefit would he be to a playoff team?  

[dex8425]

If the Twins use someone already in the organization for the utility/Marwin role, it will be Travis Blankenhorn or Nick Gordon, not Royce Lewis. Gordon can play SS. Lewis has played what, 40 games above A ball? Not mlb ready. 

[Trov]

I expect a slow winter meetings.  Teams have no clue how many fans they will get to have next year.  They will not want to invest heavy for players it they are taking huge loss.  Players will not want to take huge reduction in pay.  My guess sides are throwing out numbers that are not very close.  Players will be seeking long term deals that may be more back loaded to ease the money next year, but teams most likely looking for 1 to 2 year deals because the CBA coming up and expected work stoppage.  They have no clue what CBA will look like down the road with tax or possible salary cap.  

 

Other than Bauer, who know one knows what he is thinking, there is not super star long term contract guys this year.  Bauer has stated wanting 1 year deals over his career, but rumors are he has backed off on that too. 

 

I have a feeling a lot of guys will sign late for less than they wanted.